Bye Bye Bat Wings! I’m Getting an Arm Lift

Excess arm fat is a real problem for people who are overweight, have lost a lot of weight, or are simply dealing with the changes the body goes through with age.

When you have "bat wings," or excess skin and fat that hangs off the bottom of your arms, it's embarrassing and affects your confidence.

Although working out and lifting weights can help, it doesn’t always fix the problem. Consider an arm lift if you're at your wits end with excess arm skin.

At Meridian Plastic Surgery in Meridian, Mississippi, Dr. Mark S. Elliott and Dr. Lee K. Thornton offer various surgical procedures to help you feel good about your body.

Our team carefully evaluates your health and goals to determine if an arm lift is the best option to reduce arm skin or fat for a chiseled, youthful look you're proud of.

The facts on an arm lift

An arm lift, or brachioplasty, is a cosmetic surgical procedure we offer to help sculpt your upper arms when you have excess fat or skin. It's an excellent option for those looking for a more sculpted look to the upper arms when diet and exercise still need to do the trick.

The main goal of an arm lift is to make the skin on the upper arms tighter to reduce the appearance of sagging or loose skin. You may consider an arm lift if you have any of the following:

• Changes in skin elasticity, mainly that occur with age
• Have lost a significant amount of weight, resulting in loose skin
• A genetic disposition to loose or sagging skin
• Lymphedema
• Weight loss surgery that's affected your upper arms

The goal of an arm lift is to not only reduce loose or saggy skin around the upper arm but also provide a tighter look that you can't always get with exercise and weight training alone.

During an arm lift, our team reduces pockets of fat in the upper arm and tightens the skin and supportive tissues to provide a smoother, sculpted look.

How does an arm lift work?

An arm lift is a cosmetic surgical procedure, meaning you need anesthesia during surgery. You will need a driver and someone to take care of you for the first few days after surgery.

We perform the procedure in the operating room and numb the area with local anesthetic medications. Once you're comfortable and asleep, we make an incision in the arm to access the supportive tissues.

If you have excess fat in the upper arms, we may use liposuction before tightening the other tissues to address pockets of fat. After removing the fat, we tighten the tissues to tighten the skin.

Our team uses sutures to draw in the supportive muscles and tissues that support the skin under the arm. Once the sutures are in, we close the incision and take you out to the recovery room.

If you're having both arms done, we move to the other arm and perform the same procedure. The size of the incisions depends on how much arm fat we need to remove and the amount of excess skin.

Are the results permanent?

While the results of an arm lift speak for themselves, they are only permanent if you follow your post-op instructions and keep up with nutrition and exercise.

To help the results last longer, you should be healthy before surgery to avoid excess skin from weight loss occurring after the procedure.

After an arm lift, you must continue working out and lifting weights to maintain your results. At your follow-up appointments, our team tells you when you can start exercising.

Nutrition is also an essential aspect of maintaining the results of an arm lift as well. We can help you understand what foods to eat and which to avoid to prevent excess fat from forming around the surgical site.

As with any cosmetic surgery, the results may change, especially regarding aging. Your skin may begin to sag later in life, even after an arm lift.

To learn more about an arm lift, don't hesitate to call Meridian Plastic Surgery today at 601-693-7742 or request a consultation on the website.